Dark Shadows

Chapter 3: An Honest Day's Work

It has been three hours since Applebloom became Poison Apple, and she is now nearing Sweet Apple Acres. She had been thinking over what Hysteria had said to her. Who were all these people she was supposed to find? IT was clear that honesty was her sister, the dragon's tail was Spike, but what did she mean by the three who have yet to find their purpose, each  a different race. Did she mean her friends? That was the only thing she could think of, but who was the third? Upon looking into the mysterious orb she found on the outskirts of Ponyville she understood who the third person was.

Her.

Or rather, who she used to be. Applebloom was an Earth pony, and still didn't have her cutie mark when she became Poison Apple. When Poison Apple looked into the orb she could see her old self, trapped forever inside a cage. What would she do in this situation? Would she willing harm her own sister and friends for Hysteria? Probably not, Poison Apple thought as she reached to farm house on Sweet Apple Acres. It was time for her to take away her sister's honesty...

It was early morning when Applejack heard someone rummaging through the attic of the barn. She knew most people liked to stay off her farm, but even then there was the occasional person who tried to hide in the barn. Picking up a nearby shovel she made her way into the barn, preparing to defend herself if need be, only to find Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in the barn, surrounded by old camping gear.

"What are you three doing?" Applejack asked, dropping the shovel beside her.

"Getting camping gear!" Applebloom said happily, tossing an old tent away because it had a hole in it.

"Why do you need camping gear?" Applejack asked, dodging a tent pole Scootaloo had thrown behind her.

"We're uh..." Applebloom started to say, trailing off as she tried to find an excuse.

"We're going camping in the orchard!" Sweetie Belle said, quickly taking the attention off Applebloom.

"Why are you camping in the orchard" Applejack asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice, because she knew what was coming next.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CAMPING EXPERTS! YAY!"

"So how long do you three plan on camping for?" Applejack asked, noticing a rather large bag filled with food beside the pile the three girls were rummaging through.

"One week" Scootaloo answered, tossing a hatchet towards another pile, "Oops". The other two girls looked up and saw that the hatchet had broken through a tent pole they planned on using.

"Smooth move Scoots, now we have to find another one" Sweetie Belle said angrily as she went back to digging through the pile. Scootaloo went over and took the hatchet out of the pole and set it next to the pile so nothing else would get ruined. Applejack sighed as she turned around to head back to the house. She had to get ready for a long day on the farm. Her schedule for today was to harvest the rest of the south-eastern field, and to help Big Macintosh with the lunch rush at their apple stall.

After a long day of work Applejack finally got back to the farmhouse. Her arms and legs were tired from working in the field the entire day, and then carrying barrels of apples to the stall during the lunch rush. She quickly made her way to the bath so she could get a little bit of R&R. Just as she lowered her way into the bath she heard Big Mac from the other side of the door.

"Where's Applebloom?" he asked, knowing she usually comes home after her and her friends usual crusades.

"They went out camping in the orchard" Applejack said calmly as the warm water relaxed her muscles.

"Oh, okay" Big Mac said, nodding to himself as he made his way to the kitchen. He was hungry after a long day of work. Applejack waited until she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore before she lowered herself under the water completely. She started to think about what was happening with Applebloom and her friends out in the orchard. After a few minutes she got out of the bath and made her way to her room, getting into her pyjamas before she climbed into her bed, made even more comfortable after her long day.

Poison Apple made her way into the farm house quietly, trying not to wake her old family. She knew that if any of them saw her in her new appearance she would be found out immediately. Heading up the stairs she looked around for Applejack's room, finding the door open a tiny bit, allowing her to open it without being found out.

"Who's there...?" Applejack asked quietly, having been on the verge of sleep when she heard her door open. Poison Apple stopped instantly, knowing that if she was awake it was going to make her job a lot harder. She quickly slipped into the room as Applejack got up to shut the door, being kept hidden by the darkness.

"I should really start locking my door..." Applejack mumbled as she turned to go back to her bed.

Thud

Applejack quickly turned around to find the source of the noise, only to see a small orb rolling towards her. As she bent over to pick it up she felt something jump on her back, causing her to jump back to her standing position. Poison Apple quickly brought the knife to Applejack's throat, knowing that the farmer would easily be able to throw her off.

"Who, who are you?" Applejack said quietly, her voice filled with terror.

"It's none of your concern" Poison Apple said as she brought the knife closer, preparing the slit Applejack's throat.

Wait, Poison Apple could hear Hysteria's voice in her head, Don't kill her, just cut her so the orb can absorb her honesty

"Yes mother" Poison Apple said as she moved the knife down so she wouldn't kill Applejack.

"Mothe-" Applejack started, cut off when the knife slid across her collar bone, causing her to fall to the ground as she bled. When she hit the ground the orb lit up, her honesty being pulled from her through the open wound. Due to the pain of having her honesty pulled out she passed out, but not before seeing her attackers face.

"Applebloom..." Applejack stammered as she passed out, all honesty gone from her body. Poison Apple picked up the orb after it finished glowing, and made her way out of the farm house. As she left the farm she picked her next target, and she knew just how to get her too...